Making this comparison chart just for fun because I was thinking about how these cities and their surrounding areas and suburbs line up and compare during my afternoon walk today. lol Obviously all very subjective, and this is totally based on my own perspective and memories. Love them both for loads of reasons, and lots of things (most notably God's will) will factor into the timing, but I do see myself moving back to Tulsa eventually. =)
And here's a neutral pic from a city I will be visiting wherever I live... Stillwater!!
(From Halloween day of 2020 - it's one of my favorite memories because it felt so hopeful to be in that fun crowd atmosphere toward the end of the lonely pandemic year).
OKC ----- Tulsa
Scissortail Park < The Gathering Place
Quail Springs Mall > Woodland Hills Mall
The Collective = Mother Road Market
Chesapeake Arena < BOK Center
OKC Memorial Marathon = Route 66 Marathon
Riversport Rapids, Frontier City, White Water Bay - (No Tulsa equivalent)
Nichols Hills - (No Tulsa equivalent)
Tinker Air Force Base - (No Tulsa equivalent)
(No OKC equivalent) - Midtown and Cherry Street
Mustang < Broken Arrow
Edmond < Jenks
Moore > Sapulpa
Del City < Sand Springs
Classen Curve = Utica Square
The Station > Crescent Park
(No OKC equivalent) - Jenks Riverwalk
Norman = Bixby
Midwest City > North Tulsa
Yukon < Owasso
Bricktown > Brookside
Choctaw = Glenpool
Shawnee > Bartlesville
Final Verdict:
Oklahoma City < Tulsa
Happy Halloween, friends and fam - hope it's a safe and fun-filled night - and happy November tomorrow!!
1. A delicious Cheesecake Factory brunch and good talk then fantastic, breezy, fall weather for the 2-hour+ Lake Hefner trail walk with Kristin last Saturday!
2. This reminder... and the way God is able to use every hard thing we go through to grow us, help others, and glorify His name.
3. Mom's love of Amber Marie... it's entertaining to me! She had enough points stacked up to get this fun bow for 1/3 of their normal price during our Sunday trip to Tulsa (round #3 of 4 in taking stuff to Melissa's house). lol
4. Learning that Asher Kenneth has a baby sister on the way! ❤
5. Pre-ordering my copy of Ashley Ann Campbell's first book (HERE)... so excited for this!! (I've followed her family via her blog and Instagram over the past 14 years, and this is major news!)
6. Lizzy inspiring me to "get my colors done" ...might be my Christmas gift to myself this year. Or Birthday. lol Just sometime before graduation.
7. This cheesy-but-true FB post that felt like a good reminder before election week.
That's all for now. October flew by quickly. Happy Halloween, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead! Wish Mom and I luck as we travel to Tulsa one last time to decorate Melissa's house for Christmas this weekend! =)
John Eldredge sends a video by email every Friday morning. Today, he talked about the coming elections - how they are consequential and contentious - and how God's people would do well to center our hearts in His care and pray the following verse...
I appreciated that reminder, so I wanted to share it with you.
I recently updated my FB cover photo to this verse where God encourages us to be still and remember that He is in control, and He will be honored and exalted. No matter what happens next month, our ultimate HOPE is secure in Christ. It's the safest place for our hearts.
As far as the coming election goes, I voted via absentee ballot a couple weeks ago. I won't get into specific opinions here, but I am grateful for important conversations with wise friends, growing insight, a VP candidate I believe in, and feeling more peace and hope than I have in the past few election cycles. (Ironically, trusting God is often easier for me in massive, globally-important matters than it is in personal matters.)
Praying for God's people to take sin seriously and repent and seek Him wholeheartedly, which is what He very clearly asks us to do in order to receive His healing in our nation (2 Chronicles 7:14). God knows all hearts, and He will not be blaming those who are lost or holding them accountable for national corruption and failure. Also praying for the personal wisdom not to engage in foolish arguments that go nowhere, and that I would feel more resilient and supported and heard and less isolated and defensive and dismissed than I have in past years.
Another good reminder:
I fully understand how exhausting, divisive, and triggering political conversations can be... often getting into vitriol, belittling, bullying, and dehumanizing the opposing side. It's never okay. As Christians, let's strive to remember that people spanning the wide range of the political spectrum matter to God, are created in His image with inherent dignity, worth, and value, and have valid concerns and a personal background that informs their unique political views and opinions. Word choices matter. Character matters - (in our leaders, but also in our personal lives). And respect and humility go a verrry long way.
So wherever you may stand on that spectrum, I love you and believe in you, and God does too. Praying for His will to be done here on earth as it is in Heaven!
"...For He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." ~Luke 6:35-36
Today, I am thankful for:
1. God's kindness and love toward us, and His kindness and love flowing through us!
2. Mel's joy in book launch week... I'm grateful to follow so many podcasters, teachers, and authors who inspire me!
3. Family fun at TopGolf last weekend!
4. Memories and photos that remind me you can grow apart and sincerely wish people well... some friendships are meant for a specific season, and "God makes everything beautiful in its time." (Including my future path, which still holds a lot of mystery for me).
5. Jace Michael's football pics... I'm sure he prefers the fierce one on the left, while I strongly prefer the smiling one. lol
6. My tenth session with Emily this week... I'm grateful to have a strong connection and a safe place to process some things, and hopeful that I'll walk away with deeper healing and more resilience!
(An Aundi Kolber quote that feels fitting - What's happened in your life matters. That's one of the overarching messages of therapy. I may expound on that more later.)
7. Fun times with the Wilsons and Melissa last weekend! And a fun week reminiscing about MJ music and memories since then.
Bonus: Speaking of reminiscing, gracious, I LOVED this movie and was happy to see it again this weekend!! When I saw that it first came out in 2005, that made sense - so many of these songs feel like the soundtrack to the JMM era for me, and I love Ashton and Amanda (and basically any longitudinal storyline where dysfunctional people find themselves and find healing and strength in each other). So I'm thankful for A Lot Like Love, for the memories and the music, and for being a healthier person who sees it in a different light now but still appreciates it. *I adore this Say-Anything-inspired move with the loud music to get the girl's attention - although this movie is better since he actually sings - 2025 Lindsey would melt just as quickly for that as 2005 Lindsey lol - and it doesn't hurt that I still find Ashton circa 2005 very adorable and fun and attractive! ❤
Okay that's all for today. Happy Thursday and have a sparkling, spectacular weekend ahead!
Well, friends, today is a monumental event... the birthday of one Ryan Reynolds!! =) Look how precious.
Happy Birthday, Ry-Ren! I've been a fan since The Proposal in 2009...
(Hmmm, okay.)
But I'm fangirling extra hard this year with Deadpool & Wolverine!
Love Shawn. Love Hugh. Love Ryan. Love their friendships!!
This = a quiz result that I took a screenshot of back in 2020, likely rolling my eyes at how off-base it was. Now that I've seen Deadpool 1-3, this juxtaposition actually feels pretty freaking on point! (I searched "Deadpool" on my Google Photos today, which is how I even found it again after all this time and immediately started laughing).
In other news, here's another cute pumpkin patch pic - Lindsay with Memphis, Phoenix, and Waverly! =)
Mamaw with J&K after the CHA Patriotic Program this morning!
Me with LB and Tiffany six years ago on this day (they're in jury term again right now, and I will be next week)!
Get it, Mel Robbins! I want good things for her, and it makes me happy to see her success! She starts every podcast with, "Hey... it's your friend, Mel!" and I've started to believe it. lol
She announced her new book this week! (Writing it was her Launch project sprint that I enjoyed hearing about a lot over the past six months) - already pre-ordered the Audible version, along with Jefferson Fisher's first book and Melanie Shankle's book coming next February. YAAAAAY, audiobooks! And yay, Mel Robbins!
Circling back to it one last time, yay Ryan Reynolds... he's genuine and smart and kind, a loyal friend and a great husband and dad, and he's hilarious and soooo quick-witted with comebacks and random ADHD trains-of-thought, and I love him for all of that!! Happy 48th B-day, Ryan... aka Andrew Paxton... aka Wade Wilson... aka Deadpool. Oh look, another chance for a fun heart-hands gif!! The spirit fingers kill me. lol ...I mean, you gotta believe this was an inside joke with T-Swift since they're good friends, so I'm just throwing myself right into that group and laughing with them! ;-)
Considering that I've never met most of these people in real life, I really couldn't love them more! lol
Everything about this picture makes me happy!! ❤ Tate took it for us, hence the low and slanted, artsy angle. The Betsy Johnson sparkly boots and pink crystal headband are actually mine... but Rach provided the sequin jackets Melissa and I are wearing, and the gold sequin skirt Karli has on! Just for the group photo, I wanted Chet to have some sequins too, so Karli mentioned that she had an old hat he could wear. Chet: "The leprechaun hat!?" lolol Anyway, it all brings me lots of joy!
Thanks to Victoria covering my last court hearing, I was able to be in Tulsa around 4:30. Tate and Parker were cute and entertaining, as usual, and we grabbed an early dinner at Mission BBQ (new to Tulsa). The smoked turkey, green beans, cheesy potatoes, mac n cheese, chicken, etc. did not disappoint. Everyone loved their food, and they gave us free samples of a few things - the caramel apple cobbler would be worth a second trip all by itself!
It probably helped that Chet and Teresa knew Justin, one of the guys working there. Yay for this group pic with the Disney crew... we'll be there in less than 3 weeks!
Presh Parker Elizabeth was in a fun mood! ❤
This was take #1 by Tate, and it also makes me happy... kids are the best! lol
Girls pic - photo by Chet! Thanks again to Rach for all the sequins!! They were flashy and fun, but too hazardous to wear often. lol The minute I got there, I hugged Parker and the sequins caught her hair and messed up her perfect braids... eek... they really do catch on everything!
The people in front of us let Chet borrow the sequin glove for this pic - hahaha, I love it!
The musical itself was great - Rach and I (along with our very entertaining friend and carpool buddy, Mark) listened to Michael Jackson's HISTORY (Greatest Hits) album through much of my sophomore and junior year at CHA. So many of our drives and from to school were spent with the freaking Earth Song, Tabloid Junkie, History, Black or White, Remember the Time, Billie Jean, This Time Around, They Don't Care About Us, etc. There are also cousin memories with the song from Free Willy, memories with Mom talking about his Off the Wall album, the fantastic Thriller dance scene from 13 Going on 30, and flashbacks to Undercover Brother whenever I hear the first notes of Beat It. lol Needless to say, this musical brought back tons of memories for me, and I ended up texting with Rach about it all for a while!
The young kid who played Jackson 5 Michael was very impressive, as was the man playing adult Michael -- he nailed the epic dance moves, singing, awkward mannerisms, and breathy voice! What they did with the beginning of Thriller was intense and made me see it differently (with kid Michael singing a slow version of that first verse as he's visibly afraid of their abusive dad who becomes the twitchy wolf from Thriller)... then there was a bright flash of light and they moved into the well-known version with full lights and costumes and dancing, but that beginning shook me up for a minute!
My personal favorite song was They Don't Care About Us... "But if Martin Luther was livin', he WOULDN'T LET THIS BE, no, noooo!" Clap, clap -- pause, pause -- clap, clap. lol
It's powerful and poignant - anyway, that was their final song just before the intermission, then Man in the Mirror was the actual final song - both very well done!
Sneaking in one picture at the end when it was too late for anyone to care or kick me out! lol
Top pic = the Wilsons with Paul and Stephanie - they all have season tickets for the Tulsa PAC shows! *Side note: Paul is a big OSU fan and has seen all my pics at the games, so he naturally assumed I'm a big fan and started talking to me about the coaching and certain players, and I was getting a little cracked up at how little I know about all that. Bottom pic = them cleaning after literally everyone but our group had left the theater! lol
We stayed back for a minute to get a group photo with Denist Gary and his daughter, Emma! (Melissa actually sat with them through the second half as they had closer seats that were better for her eyes.)
Anyway, I'm grateful Bill had zero interest in this, and thanks so much to the Wilson fam for letting me join them on this one - a really fun day all around!! And now it's time for me to buckle down and do some actual court reporter work.
In closing,
You are not alone;
I am here with you.
Though we're far apart,
You're always in my heart. And you are not alone.
Lol another fav MJ song that they didn't include in the musical! ❤
Happy Monday, friends and fam! I hope the week is off to a lovely start for you.
We had a delightful outdoor family dinner at Top Golf last night... it was my first time there, and I loved the atmosphere! (I'm guessing weather makes a huge difference, but it's been pretty perfect weather lately.) Our waitress took this group pic of us, and I definitely didn't realize I was blocking Dad... next time I'll join Rach in the sorority squat pose! lol *For future reference to everyone I regularly take photos with (aka everyone in my life), if you cannot see the camera, it cannot see you, so move or speak up!!
Some golfing gifs. =) I forgot about T being left-handed until he got up to play.
Girls pic (aka me checking the lighting before our group pic)... then Mom making me laugh getting to know the guys next to us (who were awesome golfers).
Aside from the fam dinner and the MJ musical on Friday (my next post), I wrote a 7-page paper and walked over 12 miles this weekend!! That hasn't happened in years, and I'm pretty proud of it. The weather was perfectly breezy and nice... this is me at the start of my 8.25 miles on Saturday afternoon... 2 hours and 45 minutes with Kirsten Ferguson's "Intention Setting" encouragement and Rebecca Kennedy's 80s movie songs - fun! #Peloton
And here I am with the stupid music-playing skeletons toward the end of mile #4 yesterday morning - huzzah! That walk was accompanied by Ed Sheeran and classical music - also really great! Yes, I have 3 blisters on my toes, which would've been much worse without BodyGlide (which I finally remembered to use, thanks to Kristin!) All things considered, the weather was beautiful and this made me feel more empowered and confident about our upcoming Half and me potentially doing the Full in April! If I ever find a sock/shoe combo that alleviates blisters, I'll be unstoppable. lol
Finally, today marks two years since I bought my house, so happy Taber anniversary to me! =)
In case no one else tells you today, here's a reminder that I love you and I believe in you, and God is with you and for you! Also, this gif is a delight to my soul, so I had to share the love! lol
